If you are not aware, one of the most powerful features offered by the Sony Mirrorless Camera system, is the ability to use other brand lenses and still retain quality auto focus. The Sony on sensor phase detection af system can work with almost any capable lens, and depending on your lens adapter the results can vary a bit from lens to lens.

So, as some of you know, I still have all my Canon Pro gear from when I used to do wedding and portrait work years ago. Nowadays, I barley ever use it unless I have a friend or family that wants some pro oriented photos. However, I do use the killer L lenses quite often on my Sony cameras via the Metabones Lens Adapter, and thought you should know just how good it actually works.

Does the Auto Focus work as good as a native Sony lens? No, but it’s pretty good and leaps and bounds better than manually focusing!

I really enjoy using top quality optics, so using the lens adapter at the loss of a little af speed and accuracy does not really bother me at all. If I was shooting a wedding, that would be a different story though, don’t get me wrong! I would want the fastest and most accurate af as possible, and using this set-up would not be ideal for that in my opinion, although certainly could be done.

Sample Photos

These are all just snapshots from a family birthday party, but it was real world use and I thought some of them came out quite good… It’s fun to use a lens like this and just goof around from time to time I must say!

Closing Remarks

As you can see the Sony A9, and all the newer Sony E-Mount Mirrorless Cameras for that matter, work really well with other lens manufactures like Canon. Even though the lens mount is completely different, utilizing electronic lens adapters like the quality Metabones and Sigma MC-11, or cheaper units, will allow you to use these lenses on your Sony E-Mount Cameras with Auto Focus! Image stabilization will also work, but you will need to turn off the in camera stabilization when using a Canon EF lens stabilization. Or you can turn the lens stabilization off and just use the camera stabilization which is what I do. Last time I tested, the Sony cameras don’t work together with the Canon lens stabilization like it can with a Sony lenses unfortunately. It’s a one or the other situation as far as I’m aware…

That is about it for this article and I really hope you got what you were looking for 😉 Please let me know what you think in the comments section below, and by all means ask questions if you have them as always!

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Thanks for the comments Mark, and clearly I will have to try the IS on the Canon Lens again!! I have the version I… I read a while ago that they compete with one another and thought I tested it on the A7 II to confirm this. Perhaps I was mistaken or my version I lens is the issue, sorry about that and I will try it again on the A9 to find out for sure…

Thank you for the review! I just updated my Metabones IV firmware to version 57. This made a significant improvement to the speed of AF on my A7rII and A6300 when using the Canon 600 II, 400 DO II and 100-400 II.
I will be trying these camera-lens combinations with the 1.4x III and 2x III teleconverters over the next several days and will let you know the results. Prior to this firmware update the AF with the 1.4x was OK but the 2x often “hunted” and was not useful for my bird photography when trying to photograph flying birds.

Thanks for the comments and info on your user experience and current firmware revision with the Metabones IV! It’s good to hear the firmware helps and I’m sure others will appreciate that information as well 😉 I have never tested it with the teleconverters before, so that is really good to hear in particular!

Question for you?? Do you use the IS on the Canon lenses and on the camera at the same time?

I turn the lens IS on. With it on the image in the viewfinder is stabilized when you half press the shutter. With the lens IS off the image continues to jump around in the viewfinder because the camera only stabilizes it when the shutter is fully released. Hope that helps.